Current Research

My research is focused on estimating and managing forest carbon at the stand and landscape scales, using a variety of tools including LiDAR. Carbon in forests is important for many reasons, including climate mitigation and soil productivity. Managing forests to maintain and enhance carbon stocks is compatible with other important forest management objectives, and I work to understand the carbon consequences of common management practices and the tradeoffs between managing for carbon and other objectives, such as wildlife habitat. I am also involved in outreach and training, teaching forest carbon estimation techniques to a variety of audiences.

Hoover, Coeli M.; Smith, James E. 2017. Equivalence of live tree carbon stocks produced by three estimation approaches for forests of the western United States. Forest Ecology and Management. 236-253.

Research Interests

Forest carbon stocks, especially those in the soil, do not respond uniformly to management actions. I am interested in understanding and identifying the major factors driving the response, so that we can better assess what forest characteristics indicate the greatest potential for additonal carbon storage. I am also interested in developing ways to estimate forest carbon stocks that are operationally feasible at the landscape scale.

Why This Research is Important

My research is very applied and is focused on helping landowners and managers estimate their forest carbon stocks and understand how management affects those stocks, so that they can add forest carbon to their list of management objectives. I use a variety of approaches - experiments to develop knowldege, tool development (such as the carbon reports in the Fire and Fuels Extension of the Forest Vegetation Simulator), and technology transfer (training sessions) to meet those objectives. Lack of forest inventory data and the expense of collecting such data are a major barrier for managers who want to include carbon sequestration in their management plans; current research on the feasibility of landscape scale carbon assessment using Lidar data and streamlined inventory has the potential to remove this obstacle.

National Research Highlights

Wood continues to store carbon after it is harvested, and some carbon offset programs allow landowners to receive credit for carbon in products made from harvested wood. The challenge is how to accurately estimate how much carbon wood products store. Forest Service scientists, in collaboration with scientists at ESSA Technologies, created i-Tree PRESTO to put those numbers at your fingertips.

Wildlife species often prefer habitats with specific characteristics. For example, many birds need dense brushy areas where they can safely nest, feed young, complete their growth, and prepare for migration. LiDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging, data give us a bird’s-eye view at the landscape level to help locate areas that might meet the habitat needs of species of concern to managers.

Carbon is stored not only in living trees but also in products made from the wood of harvested trees. PRESTO, an easy-to-use web-based tool for estimating the carbon in products made from harvested wood, is designed for use by everyone from industrial forest managers to small private forestland owners.

Forests have an important role in reducing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Forest Service scientists wrote the forestry chapter in a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture report describing methods to quantify changes in greenhouse gas emissions and carbon storage resulting from changes in management practices.

Managing forests to store carbon is one way to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Measuring carbon in old-growth forests helps managers understand the potential of forests to store more carbon. Forest Service scientists working with their colleagues in the National Forest Systems found that old-growth softwood forests contained 25 percent more carbon than old-growth hardwoods, and that old-growth hardwood forests have about the same amount of carbon as mature second-growth hardwood sites.